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Counters. Lucario and other vacuum wave user can try a ohko with vacuum wave. Gliscor and golurk have strong def stats, and can survive physical hits, though special sets are a problem. Garchomp resists volt switch and only has 1x weaknesses to its moves, except hp ice, and ko with earth power or possibly a boosted earthquake. Terrakion can decimate it with close combat or sacred sword.

This is going to be exciting for the next six weeks or so. It's ashame Cobalion is in UU but he still shines with his great typing. Since were going over the release date, if we get new move tutors, we may use new sets, Back on topic, though Lucario outclasses it in power, Cobalion can set up a bit better with better defenses.

Whimsicott's a good partner since it can use a low powered Beat Up without STAB and can give Cobalion 4 attack stat raises. Six if it's a full 6 on 6 double battle. Usually it's four but triple attack is still pretty good. Also, out of all of them, Whimsicott has tle lowest attack stat of the fully evolved Pokemon that can learn Beat Up.

Cobalion is the least-used of the so-called "musketeer" Pokemon (although it's a mystery to me as to why they're called that). Cobalion and its companions share the same base stat total and also have very similar stat spreads. Cobalion boasts an impressively sturdy base 129 Defense stat and a great base 108 Speed stat. Its offenses are balanced at base 90 apiece, and its HP is a decent base 91. Cobalion's weakest stat is a below-average base 72 Sp. Defense stat. It also boasts a very unique typing of Fighting/Steel, which it shares only with Lucario. This typing grants it many resistances and allows it to brush off Stealth Rocks and Toxic Spikes. All of these qualities make Cobalion seem like an ideal physical wall, right? Well...not exactly. Cobalion lacks any form of recovery outside of Rest, meaning it can't take repeated beatings. Its STAB combination also isn't as good as its fellow musketeers; Steel is infamous as one of the worst offensive attack types, and the types it does hit supereffectively are easily handled by Cobalion's Fighting attacks. Outside of its STAB, Cobalion's offensive movepool is quite small. And finally, Cobalion's offensive stats aren't ideal for sweeping. But Cobalion can manage to carve itself a niche since Lucario plays very differently from it.

Recommended tiers: UU-OU

Justified is Cobalion's only ability. When it's hit with a Dark attack, its Attack stat raises one level. Since Cobalion 4x resists Dark attacks and has many other resistances, it can switch into most of them very comfortably.

Close Combat and Focus Blast are tied for Cobalion's strongest attack. Close Combat isn't ideal for a defensive set though, so you can run Sacred Sword instead. Iron Head doesn't provide any additional supereffective coverage, but it does hit many types neutrally, gets STAB, and its flinch chance combines well with Cobalion's high Speed. Flash Cannon is a good substitute for a special Cobalion. Cobalion is one of the few non-Electric type Pokemon to get Volt Switch; it doesn't get STAB but will help keep offensive momentum and allow Cobalion to escape from a potentially dangerous situation. Stone Edge is a great coverage move, and the best one Cobalion has. X-Scissor hits Psychic types like Cresselia harder than Iron Head or Stone Edge. Cobalion can use Work Up, Swords Dance, Hone Claws, and Calm Mind to boost itself up. Calm Mind gets a special mention, as it helps patch up Cobalion's sub-par Sp. Defense. Cobalion can also provide team support with Roar, Taunt, Thunder Wave, and Reflect.

Double and Triple options: Cobalion is a very sturdy user of the Helping Hand move, but it doesn't resist many common Double and Triple battle moves. It can, however, abuse the Beat Up/Justified combo very well.

Countering Cobalion: Since Cobalion can run quite a number of different sets, countering it can be tricky. Dusclops is probably the safest switch-in. It won't like being Taunted but it can inflict a Burn on Cobalion. Since Cobalion has no way of self-healing outside of Rest, repeatedly beating on it works. The Calm Mind set is best dealed with through Hazing or Phazing.

The Cobalt Sword of Justice (Cobalt's set I already post)
One for all, all for one! (mainly for Triple Battles whose partners are Terrakion and Virizion)
In the name of ???, I will punish you! (You can use Cobalt, Cobalion, Arceus, swordsmanship, the Pokémon Musketeer Squad, the Sword of Justice, friendship or any word you think is good for this pun)

Because pretty much everyone has done different movesets for Cobalion, I will devote this post to talking about it.

Cobalion is the most interesting member of the musketeer foursome (factoring in Keldeo). It shares the same typing as Lucario, has the same BST as the other musketeers, and has a small movepool. It is by no means a shallow movepool; no, its movepool is big enough for it to be either a physical or special sweeper, as well as just enough to be a pseudo-support Pokemon, but it's better off attacking than supporting (at least IMO). This lack of a movepool is most of what makes Cobalion UU instead of OU like the other released members.

The other reason it's that way is because of its stat distribution. While its physical defense is really high (base 129, if I recall correctly), it will fall easily to pretty much any special attack thrown its way. That, and in OU, it faces competition from Lucario as a sweeper. Even so, base 108 speed is hard to beat, as it outruns a lot (if not, then all) of the unboosted UU and OU tiers.

Pokemon who carry Flash Fire, as well as Pokemon like Zoroark, Sigilyph, and Zapdos are good partners for Cobalion in battle. Flash Fire Pokemon are good partners because they can benefit from Cobalion's fire weakness by switching into an opposing fire attack, only to get their own Fire attacks boosted.

Zoroark is a good partner because, provided Stealth Rock isn't up, you can screw around with an opponent's head, making him think that he's dealing with a Cobalion (which primarily serves as a physical sweeper when you see it), only to send in a Skarmory and get roasted by Flamethrower.

Sigilyph is a great partner because it can pass on burns to boost Cobalion's physical defense against other physical sweepers. It is also resistant to Cobalion's weaknesses and can boost its defense to sky-high levels, surviving anything, and should it faint, open the way for Cobalion to finish up the scraps.

Zapdos is a good partner because it can function as a wall (to a degree) and is immune to Ground and balances out the fighting weakness.

In OU, Gengar, Politoed, Terrakion, Eviolite Chansey, and Blissey are good partners for Cobalion.

Gengar, like Sigilyph, has immunities to most opposing attacks that are super effective on Cobalion. It is also faster than non-scarfed Cobalion, and can put opponents to sleep with Hypnosis.

Politoed is an excellent partner for Cobalion because it alleviates the fire weakness that Cobalion carries.

Terrakion may seem an odd partner for Cobalion, but remember, Cobalion can be a special attacker (Terrakion sucks at special attacking). Should Cobalion be a Calm Mind set, Terrakion can be a partner by utilizing Choice Scarf to finish off faster counters to Cobalion.

Eviolite Chansey and Blissey are good partners for the same reason: being able to absorb special attacks and heal them off. They can also support Cobalion by wish-passing.

Now to discuss the counters for Cobalion.

In UU, there are a few major counters for it. These include Sableye, Whimsicott, Zoroark, and Sigilyph.

Sableye and Whimsicott counter Cobalion in a similar way, using Prankster to shut it down (which is actually effective). Sableye is a better counter (just because it has Will-O-Wisp), but Whimsicott can cut Cobalion's speed down to size.

Zoroark and Sigilyph are just as much a counter for Cobalion as they are partners for the reasons stated above.

In OU, the list of counters gets even bigger: Skarmory and any other physical wall (Conkeldurr, Metagross), Dugdrio, Terrakion and any other major Scarf users such as Salamence and Rotom-W. A few more counters include Reuniclus, Alakazam, Lucario, and Ferrothorn.

The physical wall counters are self-explanitory. Dugdrio, if it manages to trap Cobalion and has a Focus Sash, 2HKOs Cobalion easily. Terrakion is just as much a counter to Cobalion as a partner because of CC. Other Scarf users, while they may not be as fast as Cobalion with Scarf, are perfectly capable of targetting the weaker special side and OHKOing.

Reuniclus and Alakazam get mentions because they can Trick over a Flame Orb, as well as targetting the weaker special side and OHKOing there with Focus Blast.

Lucario gets a mention because the special variant can use Vaccum Wave and will KO after a Nasty Plot boost.

Ferrothorn also gets a mention because Iron Barbs does wear down Cobalion (if it's physical), and it can Leech Seed Cobalion to death (if it's played right).

All in all, Cobalion is a good Pokemon, but it's not as good as the other musketeers due to a small movepool and just being outclassed by other Pokemon.

Last edited by overlordmewtwo; 10th June 2012 at 10:32 PM.

I will be less active as time goes on; I have many things to do to get into college and will be focusing on that, so if you don't hear from me for a while, just be patient. I will respond, but it may take some time.

Black FC: 1764-6597-3816

Spoiler:- claims:

Crash Bandicoot Warped. IMO, the best of the series!
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Yeah, I'm a brony!
Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.
More to be added.

Overview:
Cobalion is the first of the Muskedeer quad. He is a Steel/Fighting type, which is shared only with Lucario. This typing works fairly well with Cobalion, as the nine resistances and one immunity from this typing combined with his base 129 Defense makes him a great physical wall. Base 91 HP and base 108 Speed helps by making Cobalion capable of taking physical hits well while outspeeding a lot of potential threats. It's offenses both sit at base 90, which, while not terribly great, are above average and can be boosted by Swords DAnce, Calm Mind, or Work Up. Three things really hold Cobalion back, however. First, while its other defenses are good, its base 72 Sp. Defense prevent Cobalion from being a true defensive Pokemon. Second, Cobalion's typing, while bringing in many resistances, also leaves it weak to Ground and Fighting, which are very common and deadly, and Fire, which can mainly take advantage of the low Sp. Defense. Finally, Cobalion's movepool, like the Muskadeers in general, is very shallow, which holds it back offensively. Still, Cobalion is certainly a threat that a team should watch out for, because one that is allowed to set up can be dangerous.

Abilities:

Justified: Cobalion's Attack stat is raised by one stage every time it is hit by a Dark-type move. This works great for physical Cobalion, as a double resistance to Dark with a high Defense means that a well timed switch can give Cobalion a boost with little damage. Very useful.

This set aims to make Cobalion into a physical sweeper. His naturally high base Speed helps him to sweep one boosted. Swords Dance boosts Cobalion's Attack by 2 stages, giving him 558 Attack, which is awesome. Close Combat and Sacred Sword both are STAB and great Fighting-type moves. Close Combat can be preferred with a higher base power. However, Sacred sword has more PP, does not cause the defensive stats to drop by one stage each, and any stat boosts on the opponent will not affect damage, making Sacred Sword more reliable but weaker. The last two moves depend on when you are looking for. Stone Edge gives good coverage along side the Fighting move, while Iron Head has STAB and has a good chance to flinch due to Cobalion's high Speed. Substitute protects Cobalion from status conditions, while Taunt can stop support or defensive Pokemon that could easilty wall Cobalion.

The Jolly nature is done to ensure max Speed on Cobalion, while the EVs boost the offensive stats he requires. Life Orb further boosts Cobalion's power at the cost of some HP.

This set is quite gimmicky, but it attempts to take advantage of Cobalion's physical bulk and turn him into a support Pokemon. Iron Head is for an STAB move, while a flinch chance and having no immunities to Steel helps it to be a good choice. Substitute is the same as before, to protect Cobalion from status conditions. Toxic is great for wearing out the opponents team, especially walls. Thunder Wave is a great option, as it can cripple the oppents team with the Speed drop and chance of not attacking. Funny note, Thunder Wave goes very well with Iron head, creating a "paraflinch" stategy. Metal Burst can get an occasional surprise KO, but it is very much a gimmick (just like this set).

The nature is, again, to boost Cobalion's Speed. The EV spread can definitely be changed around, but the HP should be important. Leftovers is the best item, but the Focus Sash can be used with Metal Burst for whatever reason.

Other Options:
-As stated in the overview, a Calm Mind set can be used, although it is a shame that Focus Blast is the only special STAB Cobalion gets.
-A Choice set can also be used effectively, but Choice Band or Choice Scarf would be recommended.

Counters:

If a Fighting-type has Mach Punch or Vacuum Wave, Cobalion can be beaten before it can strike. Vacuum Wave is especially helpful, since it targets Cobalion's weaker defensive stat. Unfortunately for Cobalion, a strong Earthquake can do a lot of damage, despite its high Defense. Some bulky Pokemon that can take hits from Cobalion without too much trouble are Slowbro, Dusclops, and Spiritomb, with Slowbro being one of the best ways to fight Cobalion with its resistances to both STABs.

Let's face it: ferret-esque Pokemon are the most epic Pokemon ever (to me)!!!!!! Why can't Nintendo make ones that AREN'T NU Pokemon?!? One of these guys in standard would make me quite happy.

On staff with The Navigators at University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire. Let's talk, trade, or battle if you ever see me!

Cobal' has the best Base Defense among Pokemon with Justified Ability and ties the other Muskedeer Pokemon for top Base Speed among Justified Ability Pokemon. Considering the only Special-Based Dark Moves are Dark Pulse, Snarl, and Night Daze, most of the time you'll be hit by Physical Dark Moves. Add the quad-resist to Dark and those Moves will do miniscule amounts of damage when you switch in, making Cobal' the ultimate Dark-Type buster. Stealth Rock also does very little due to another quad-resist, so Cobal' can easily rush Dark Types with Stealth Rock in your way (and be buffed from Justified).

Now, let's look at countering Cobal' by switching-in with Pokemon that have superior Speed and Super-Effective Moves...

Since Fire, Fighting, and Ground are Cobal's weaknesses, and Sp.Def is Barely-Above Average, Cobal' mainly needs to fear Aura Sphere, Focus Blast, Vacuum Wave, Earth Power, Flamethrower, Fire Blast, Fiery Dance, Heat Wave, Lava Plume, Overheat, and Hidden Power of those Types. Faster Pokemon with these Special-Based Moves include Alakazam, Sky-Shaymin, Sceptile, Gengar, Archeops, the Lati twins, Azelf, Darkrai, Mewtwo, non-Defense Deoxys, Arceus, and Hidden-Power-wielding Accelgor, Jolteon, Starmie, Raikou, Thundurus, Tornadus, and Espeon. Infernape can be an issue for Cobal', but only Base-Speed ties it. From there, you can throw out the Uber-Legendaries, Latias, and Archeops from the threat list:
-Latios will likely be used over Latias at every chance
-Archeops is more Physical or Mixed than Special and loses half of its power at half-or-less HP
-Uber-Legendaries are threats only if you dare to enter their turf

Alakazam, Sceptile, Azelf, Gengar, Jolteon, and Espeon are Physically fragile, so they must beware of a Justified-buffed Cobal' when coming in. Latios and Hidden-Power-wielding Starmie and Raikou are the ones that have the best chance of taking a +1 Attack hit from Cobal' here (and even then, not very likely with Cobal's heavy Movepool). Starmie will have to come into a missed Move or weak Fighting-Type Move, Raikou will likely have to come into a missed Move or Special Move, and Latios will be able to come in with all three situations.

As you can see, Cobal' can be a ruthless opponent when you are trying to switch into it on a non-faint with a Special Attacker capable of Super-Effective Moves. Few can survive a hit, if at all, so your best option is to avoid doing this. Stalling, Walling, going Physical with a really huge Attack stat behind a Fire, Fighting, or Ground Type Move, or coming in off of a faint with the aforementioned Special Attackers is a preferred tactic.

OK - what the heck? Cobalion is by now using the very established physical sweeper set - Swords Dance and kill. So what's up with Clefable? Well, the idea is in doubles to blast
Cobalion with Knock Off. It being a Dark-type move, Cobalion gets the Justified bonus. This plus Swords Dance = own. Then Clefable uses Follow Me to take blasts for Cobalion for about 1 turn before dying heroically. In case of Taunt, use Psychic on Fighting types, HP Water for Grounds, and Thunderbolt and Ice Beam for coverage.

I'm gonna enjoy watching the forum members with brains tear this one apart.

OK - what the heck? Cobalion is by now using the very established physical sweeper set - Swords Dance and kill. So what's up with Clefable? Well, the idea is in doubles to blast
Cobalion with Knock Off. It being a Dark-type move, Cobalion gets the Justified bonus. This plus Swords Dance = own. Then Clefable uses Follow Me to take blasts for Cobalion for about 1 turn before dying heroically. In case of Taunt, use Psychic on Fighting types, HP Water for Grounds, and Thunderbolt and Ice Beam for coverage.

I'm gonna enjoy watching the forum members with brains tear this one apart.

Why would you give cobalion an item if it is going to get knocked off anyways?
on top of that, you don't have any spread attacks to do damage to multiple targets...with a weakness to many of the spread attacks in the current metagame, cobalion isn't going to be lasting long enough...especially heat wave...you have no protection against it outside of poor little hp water...that isn't going to be enough considering clefable cannot attack and use follow me at the same time

OK - what the heck? Cobalion is by now using the very established physical sweeper set - Swords Dance and kill. So what's up with Clefable? Well, the idea is in doubles to blast
Cobalion with Knock Off. It being a Dark-type move, Cobalion gets the Justified bonus. This plus Swords Dance = own. Then Clefable uses Follow Me to take blasts for Cobalion for about 1 turn before dying heroically. In case of Taunt, use Psychic on Fighting types, HP Water for Grounds, and Thunderbolt and Ice Beam for coverage.

I'm gonna enjoy watching the forum members with brains tear this one apart.

Whismcott does the justified abuse better than clefable (see serpentine's post), and then whismcott can taunt and cause status afflictions to everything on the opponent's side of the field. Plus, if you use the justified abuse, you get a free move slot where SD used to be. Suggested filler would be x-scissor for total annihilation of dark types and psychic types.

Togekiss is a nice counter for the leader of the muskateers. Thunder wave and serene air slash makes it troubled. also aura sphere too if cobalion is on the special side

Togekiss must beware of a very-likely-to-be-on-the-Moveset Stone Edge and the possibility of Volt Switch. Togekiss is slower than Cobal', so you'll likely get a TWave in only if Cobal' is either switching in to counter Togekiss or spending a turn to buff. Counters only work if they can actually take the hit, which is less than likely with Togekiss since Cobal' won't waste a turn to buff against it due to TWave + Serene Grace-boosted Air Slash Flinching. Cobal' is either going right for the throat with Stone Edge/Volt Switch or switching to a Ground Type or something with Volt Absorb/Motor Drive/Lightningrod to punishing you for your lack of foresight...

First use swords dance. If you have to switch, then switch! You've seen how much damage it'll take from stealth rock! Anyway, sacred sword your opponent. If you really don't care about your defense, then switch to CC. Iron head is another useful STAB move. And then there's stone edge. If you really need the accuracy, change to rock slide.

chandlure and golurk are quite good at countering cobalion. chandlure resists both of its STABs and can destroy it with STAB fire blast. Golurk resists fighting and can fight back with STAB earthquake. machamp is great at countering, but is slow.

chandlure and golurk are quite good at countering cobalion. chandlure resists both of its STABs and can destroy it with STAB fire blast. Golurk resists fighting and can fight back with STAB earthquake. machamp is great at countering, but is slow.

Chandelure is killed by +2 Stone Edge. Golurk is 2HKOed by +2 Iron Head, I believe.

Credit to Beck for the RNG userbar.
As of August 18th 2012, I resigned as a CG leader.

Cobalion is probably one of my favorite pokemon from the new generation. I just now realized his name is sort of like "Cobalt-Lion". Cool.
ANYWAY, he's pretty versatile, able to work both special and physical sets. He's pretty defensive, given his good typing. Overall, I like this guy. His ability is Justified, giving him a massive boost from Dark type attacks. He can use Flash Cannon and Volt Switch in special sets, and Stone Edge and Close Combat in physical ones. Frankly, not much else to say about him.. He shouldn't be used in Double Battles, frankly, and the easiest way to counter him is through Flygon or Magmortar. Out-speed him and hit him with strong, Special attacks.

Puns
-Baphomet, that satanist goat (lol if you allow it)
-Dance with the devil
-Leadfist
-Musketeer-steel (Click, if you dont know what it is)
-Snap, Crackle and Pop ( I was very drunk, Puking, mind you)
-For Lady Justice !!! (may she be blind but a fine women!! *still buzzed*)
-All for one. And more for me. (...same excuse as before...)
-"I came to join the King's Musketeers." (movie quoted)
-"I can drink anything you put in front of me."(movie quoted)
-On Guard!!!OR
-En garde!
-"En garde"? French words make me mad!
-Evil doers cower in fear, When they see the Musketeers near.
- "all for one, one for all" (Obvious)
-The Three Musketeers (or say it in french) Les Trois Mousquetaires
-Trojan horse
-There Goes My Hero!
-Executioner

Gave it to you guys early, cuz.
Trollfreak and BH can choose whatever they want from the list.

technically there are four Musketeers, these beasts are based off characters from an old fairy tail
-Athos (A character with a heart of steel) - Cobalion
-Aramis (A character of strong will) - Terrakion
-Porthos (A character who is...dandy) - Virizion
-D'Artagnan (Technically is not one of the "Three Musketeers" in the sense that although he is in fact a musketeer)- Keldeo

Cobalion is an awesome pokemon. It has a great speed stat outrunning garchomp and others. It may lack a huge movepool but it has enough moves for a few good sets.

Coburst
Ability: justified- an ability that just barely passes as good but when you switch from a psychic or ghost chances are you dont need swords dance.
Moveset
Metal burst
Thunder wave
Close combat
Iron head
Item: Focus sash
EVs: 252 hp / 252 sp.def / 4 def
Description: Thunder wave can cripple bulky waters while close combat helps take out tanks and is a generally good move. Iron head is mostly filler but has stab and can flinch. Metal burst is used in conjunction with focus sash to take out scarf-chomp or other sweepers such as Latios. The ev spread ensures survivability and makes Cobalion slow enough to Metal burst more pokemon. It is best used with full hp so switching is not recommended for the justified boost.

Double and triple battle options
Weavile. Beat up Cobalion and its a free belly drum with much less hp taken.

Cobalion is an awesome pokemon. It has a great speed stat outrunning garchomp and others. It may lack a huge movepool but it has enough moves for a few good sets.

Coburst
Ability: justified- an ability that just barely passes as good but when you switch from a psychic or ghost chances are you dont need swords dance.
Moveset
Metal burst
Thunder wave
Close combat
Iron head
Item: Focus sash
EVs: 252 hp / 252 sp.def / 4 def
Description: Thunder wave can cripple bulky waters while close combat helps take out tanks and is a generally good move. Iron head is mostly filler but has stab and can flinch. Metal burst is used in conjunction with focus sash to take out scarf-chomp or other sweepers such as Latios. The ev spread ensures survivability and makes Cobalion slow enough to Metal burst more pokemon. It is best used with full hp so switching is not recommended for the justified boost.

Double and triple battle options
Weavile. Beat up Cobalion and its a free belly drum with much less hp taken.